Driver gave officers false name
A woman was arrested in Piedmont on Jan. 16 when she was involved in two crashes (including hitting a patrol car) in a stolen vehicle.
The black 2020 Hyundai Elantra set off the city’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) system near Moraga and Ramona avenues at 11:17 a.m. The car had been reported stolen out of Oakland.
Piedmont police found the vehicle parked in the Safeway parking lot at 5100 Broadway in Oakland. The officer activated his lights. He said he observed a woman in the passenger seat in the vehicle. When the officer attempted to open the driver’s side door, the woman reached over and locked the door, according to Piedmont Police Captain Chris Monahan.
The woman then moved to the driver’s seat and picked up a pair of pliers which she used to start the car. The Piedmont police officer used his baton to break the driver’s side window in an attempt to detain her, but she put the Hyundai into reverse and hit the police car, then fled at “a high rate of speed,” according to Captain Monahan.
The Hyundai collided with a pole and a red 2018 Lexus ES300 near Broadway and Coronado Avenue. The driver then fled on foot. She was located and provided the officers with a false name, according to Captain Monahan. She was taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and booked for fleeing, possession of a stolen vehicle and hit and run. Once at the jail, she was identified and found to be on parole from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for robbery and had a no bail warrant for her arrest.
There were no injuries and the Hyundai was released to its registered owner.
On Jan. 23, a vehicle stolen out of Albany alerted the ALPR system. Officers attempted a traffic stop on Winsor Avenue but the driver attempted to flee. The vehicle collided with a tree and two occupants were detained. Both were found to be on probation for felony charges, according to a post on the Piedmont Police Department Facebook page. One of the suspects also had “several” felony warrants.
According to the post, several stolen ID cards, credit cards and pieces of mail were found. Also found in the vehicle were multiple shaved keys, a screwdriver and a loaded 9mm gun with an extended 30-round magazine. The suspects were taken to Santa Rita Jail.
On Jan. 15, a woman was arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) after a traffic accident on Moraga Avenue. Officers arrived on the scene and found all parties with no injuries. The driver of a gray Nissan Altima had “objective symptoms of alcoholic intoxication,” according to Captain Monahan. She told officers she was the driver of the car and also had consumed two margaritas. After being given field sobriety tests, the driver consented to a Preliminary Alcohol Screening test and was found to have Blood Alcohol Content of .22 and .205 percent. She was taken to Santa Rita Jail for DUI.